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impact of the aging population on health care
impact of the aging population on healthcare
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As the population of the United States ages and lifespan increases, the U.S. is being faced with challenges that could either hurt the country or benefit it if plans are executed correctly. By the year 2050, more than thirty-two million Americans will be over the age eighty and the share of the 80-plus generation will have doubled to 7.4 percent. Health care and aging population has become a great deal considering the impact it is having on the U.S. The United States is heading into another century with an outstanding percentage of people within the aging population. Today’s challenges involving health care and the aging populations are the employees of health professions being a major percentage of the aging population, the drive into debt, and prevention and postponement of disease and disability.
One of the issues involving health care and the aging population is majority of health profession employees being a percentage of the aging population. With the knowledge of health profession employees being a factor in the aging population puts a strain on doctors and nurses that come into the workforce after ones have retired. The fewer employees there are, the greater the work load will become on one person. It is imperative for each nurse in a unit to have four patients maximum. Giving more responsibility to one employee does not make the situation less of a challenge, it more so puts people’s lives at a greater risk of danger. The new demands placed on the health care system for health services will not only include a need for more workers, but also require changes in the way services are provided.
The average age of the registered nurse population is forty-six years, and for doctors it is fifty-five years of age. There are a grea...
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.... Economy." Health Day News for Healthier Living. N.p., 25 Sept. 2012. Web.
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University of California (2006). An Aging U.S. Population and the Health Care Workforce: Factors Affecting the Need for Geriatric Care Workers. University of California, San Francisco, Center for California Health Workforce Studies.
Jacobsen, L. A., Kent, M., Lee, M., & Mather, M. (2001). America's aging population. Population Bulletin, 66(1).
Houde, S., & Melillo, K. (2009). Caring for an aging population. Journal Of Gerontological Nursing, 35(12), 9-13. doi:10.3928/00989134-20091103-04
To deal with the issue of an aging population, an awareness campaign about the health issues that commonly affect aged people should be run by the government and non-governmental agencies. In addition, awareness should be created among the young to accommodate the elderly; at home as well as at work places...
The long-term care system consists of an integrated continuum of many institutional and non-institutional providers who deliver extended care when needed. Long-term care providers deliver a variety of care to individuals with chronic, mobility and/or cognitive impairments/limitations. These providers include: nursing facilities, sub acute care, assisted living, residential care, elderly housing options and community based adult services (Pratt, 2010). A great majority of these providers are already taking care of the many baby boomers that are present today and will be present in the future. “Baby boomers” are individuals who were born between the years 1946-1964. Since 2011, every day 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 years old (Pratt, 2010). This
African American senior citizens face a health care crisis too. They have worked all of their lives to secure retirement, but their retirement has been threatened because of the rising cost of long-term medical care. Insurance companies have failed to provide affordable long-term care, protection that most senior citizens need. This lack of long term care and affordability has been a serious problem for the health care system. In some cities, the shortage of hospital beds is so serious that it is common for patients to stay in emergency rooms before they can be admitted to an inpatient room (Drake 109). More than one thousand hospital beds are occupied by people who could be better care for in nursing homes or through home health care (Drake 110). Of the disabled elderly 1.3 million reside in nursing homes (Drake 10). These patients are unable to perform two or more of the basic activities of daily living without assistance.
One of the fastest growing groups in in the United States is known as the Sandwich Generation. The “sandwich generation” name was first heard in 1981 when social worker Dorothy Miller developed the phrase to describe middle aged adults who were caring for aged relatives, while still looking after adolescent children (Steelman, 2014). In the last century (1900-2000), the expected life span of a person residing in the United States increased from 47 to 76 years. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the number of Americans aged 65 or older will double by the year 2030, to more than 70 million. This increase in the elderly population has placed a strain on the government systems of Medicare for healthcare and Social Security for living expenses. High costs along with the decline in the job mark...
Touhy, T.A., Jett, K. F. Boscart, V., & McCleary, L. (2012). Ebersole and Hess’ gerontological nursing and health aging (1st Canadian ed.). Toronto: Elsevier Canada. (Chapter 10 p. 164)
Medcohealth. Women and Aging: Our lives due change (2002). Retrieved November 18, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.medcohealth.com
The existing U.S. population is over 315 million and rising. In the year 2030, 72 million Americans will be 65 or older, a 50 percent change in age demographics since the year 2000. The change is primarily due to the aging baby boomers, who were born at the end of World War II. Americans are living longer than ever befo...
There are new challenges every year in the health care field. Research on the future of U.S Healthcare System is of paramount importance to the entire Health care industry as well as the citizens of the U.S. To begin with, the research will discuss how challenges for future healthcare services can be enhanced by reducing the costs of medication. By creating a better quality of health care, Information technology advancements, including future funding, lower rising costs, the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The research will also discuss the challenges of market shares for different ages of populating and maintaining a skilled work place. It will further discuss the tentative solutions to these challenges. The role that the government plays to ensure that these challenges are mitigated and that health care is available to all American citizens is also discussed. Among these problems poor quality of care is perhaps the most visible and troubling, resulting in nearly 100,000 preventable deaths each year (Institute of Medicine, 1999) and reduced quality of life for millions of Americans due to non-fatal yet serious adverse events such as wrong-limb amputation, hospital-acquired infection, and medication errors (Institute of Medicine, 2006; Leape, 1997).
Today, world’s population is aging at a very fast pace and United States is no exception to this demographic change. According to the U.S Census Bureau, senior citizens will be accounted for 21% of the American population in 2050 (Older Americans, 2012). Although living longer lives may not seem like a negative sign, living longer does not necessarily mean living healthier. Older adults of today are in need of long-term and health care services more than any generation before them (Older Americans, 2012). Because of the growing need for senior care, millions of families are facing critical decisions on how to provide care for their parents. In addition, declining birthrates may cause people to have less familial care and support as they age. To be able to provide the necessary care for senior citizens government funded long term care insurance program is needed.
On the other hand, according to Novak (2012), health promotion includes concepts of disease prevention and reduced disability. Health professionals aim to keep older people to stay healthy and fit. It was stated that elderlies or senior citizens have few health care insurance. In connection to health care insurance Medicare covered 19 million in USA when it was passed last 1966 and the population grew to 46 million on 2009. The Medicare program covers hospital insurance and supplementary medical insurance; according to their conducted studies, supplementary medical insurance was the always chosen by the people. Before they can avai...
Every twenty-four hours, there are ten thousand people in the United States turning sixty-five years old. Presently, there are forty-eight million people that are 65 or older, but in the year 2030 that number will grow to an alarming seventy-three million. Additionally, by the year 2035 those that are 85 and older will go from the current six million to twelve million Americans. As the number of older Americans increases, so does the need for competent and compassionate gerontological nurses (Cleave et al., 2016). This post will focus on what the term gerontological nurse means, the reasons why few nursing students choose gerontological nursing as a specialty, and what is needed to increase interest
In the current state of health care delivery, the three issues that challenge health care are rising health care costs, existing health care disparities and insufficient services for the growing number of elderly people. There is a contradiction between the mission of health care and its delivery system. The mission of health care is to help people, but it is delivered to society as a business. This creates a disadvantage for patients of low socioeconomic status. I have been a witness to those patients that lack access to primary care in their community, and I have helped navigate their care and lower their medical bills. I am also currently involved in implementing long term services and supports for the growing elderly population. Of the